Well the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame had their induction ceremony last night and it was quite an interesting night if you take all of this stuff seriously. It was nice to see Bill Berry back behind the drum kit with R.E.M. but the whole Van Halen fiasco was absolutely ridiculous. With Eddie Van Halen in rehab and David Lee Roth refusing to show because of a tiff with organizers over what song he would play with Velevet Revolver, it was left to motor mouth Sammy Hagar and original bassist Michael Anthony (no not new bassist Wolfgang Van Halen) to accept the accolades.

What has happened with Van Halen is a great example of what happens when great bands don’t know when to call it a day. No doubt urged on by their lawyers and accountants who predict an inevitably huge payday, Van Halen is such a disfunctional unit that it seems almost strange to talk about their music anymore. Where once there was the brilliance of Eddie Van Halen that was brilliantly played off of by the party-guy antics of David Lee Roth, there now lies a depressing soap opera of booze, bullshit and creative dead ends as the boys who created fun, wild eyed party rock and roll lurch from one attempted reunion to another.

My advice to Van Halen? Get healthy, get a life and then sit back and assemble a great retrospective box set of Van Halen material that will blow the socks off your long suffering fans. Then call it a day before what is left of your fan base completely gives up on you and refuses to listen to anything recorded after Van Halen 1. It could have already happened.